Piedmont

John Jackson RA (1924-2002)

'Born on February 25, 1924 in the rolling hills of Woodville, VA, in Rappahannock County, John was one of fourteen children. As the son of farmers who were no better off than sharecroppers, he was raised in a family that was poor, but rich in musical heritage. His father, Suttie, left-handed, played a battered guitar upside down and often fashioned  musical instruments like a penny whistle which he would play at house parties and other neighbourhood functions. His mother, Hattie, preferred the spiritual side to the secular and favoured the accordion and harmonica. Almost by osmosis, the young John absorbed this musical ambiance and by the age of four, he was already demonstrating his phenomenal talent for mimicry by picking on his father's guitar, and shortly after another that was purchased mail order by an older sister for the then princely sum of $3.95. However, he would still need a tutor to perfect his technique.

He found such a mentor in the person of the enigmatic "Happy," a water boy on a chain gang that was constructing Interstate 29-211 through south Virginia during the height of the Depression. John, who by then had to forego formal schooling in order to help the family survive, befriended the young convict, who, in turn, taught his protégé open tuning and the nuances of the slide. Happy, in fact, lived with the Jackson family for a few years after his release and suddenly and mysteriously disappeared, but not before his pupil had acquired all the requisite skills. 

It was a furniture peddler with a wagon who completed young John Jackson's musical education. He prevailed upon his mother to buy a Victrola on the instalment plan and, when he came by monthly to collect the meagre payment, he would sell the family used 78-rpm records at ten cents apiece. Included in this treasure trove were classic blues labels like Paramount and Vocalion with artists like Blind Lemon Jefferson, Mississippi John Hurt, and Blind Boy Fuller. But also there were labels like Bluebird, Brunswick, and Victor with country artists like Vernon Dalhart, Jimmie Rodgers, Uncle Dave Macon, and the Carter Family. Needless to say, John eagerly assimilated all these diverse musical genres, note by note. John recalled that back then a particular favourite of his was Hurt's signature rag, "Candyman."

It was not long before John, himself, was performing locally, earning a few extra dollars at parties and juke joints. But he, by nature a gentle man, eventually soured upon publicly entertaining after witnessing several violent altercations in drinking houses. In the mid-40s, he put the instrument on the shelf, firmly believing that he, as much as the liquor, was to blame for these sometimes savage brawls

About 1960, he acquired, for a paltry sum, a used Gibson "flat top box" acoustic guitar from an acquaintance and played it from time to time to just amuse himself. Although it had been fifteen or so years since he first put the instrument aside, he found that he still retained his touch. Rarely did he entertain visitors to the farm. But on one such occasion, it would have a dramatic impact on his life.

In the early 60's, at the peak of the hootenanny craze that included Sadie Hawkins dances, the Rooftop Singers just had a million selling folk song in "Walk Right In". Although credited to Eric Darling, a folkie, it was actually an old 1928 Gus Cannon banjo composition when he then was leading the Jug Stompers based in Ripley, TN. John instantly recognized the tune from an old 78 and played it for some school children strolling by. Even though the guitar picking enthralled the students, it made more of an impression on the postman who implored John to teach him to play. John was reluctant at first, but finally relented and agreed to lessons at a local Amoco filling station where the mailman worked part-time. As luck would have it, at one of these infrequent sessions, Charles Perdue, government employee and founder of the then fledgling Folklore Society of Greater Washington and now a professor of folklore at the University of Virginia, chanced by and heard John "woodshedding" in the back. Needless to say, he was astounded, especially with how John ably dispatched the complex "Candyman."  

Chuck, after much coaxing, finally persuaded John to attend some of the concerts of his boyhood heroes, including Hurt, at clubs like the now-defunct Cellar Door and Ontario Place in Georgetown. John, naturally, was sceptical that old-timers not only Hurt but also Skip James and Sleepy John Estes could still be alive. Yet, here they were and a thoroughly mesmerized John returned again and again. At one such show by Mance Lipscomb, who, himself, was uncovered in 1960 in Navasota, TX, by Chris Strachwitz, John was welcomed onstage to play a couple of songs. Again, as if by a miracle, Strachwitz of Arhoolie, looking for new talent for his California-based Arhoolie label was in the audience. This pioneering folk blues producer literally could not believe his ears.

Through the connections of Perdue and Strachwitz, John's career as a singer got off the ground in a hurry in the mid-60s and it has been a whirlwind of concert appearances and tours since then. Wherever he played, his genius was universally acknowledged.

An absolute master of the dauntingly intricate Piedmont style of finger picking RA, John could simultaneously supply a bass pattern (with his thumb), maintain rhythmical accompaniment, and select individual notes to carry the melody - all within a tight harmonic structure It's no wonder then that he was regarded as a national treasure in the folk/blues community.'

Excerpt from ‘Remembering John Jackson’ by Larry Benicewicz (full article BLUES WORLD )